Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

LAYLA CASSIDY

Avalon Island, Earth Realm

Avalon Island was situated off the coast of Wales. It was on no official maps and was outside any shipping lanes. It was, for all intents and purposes, not even there.

Layla and her team had reached the island via boat. One of dozens that had shipped hundreds of rebel soldiers there. If there was one thing that she'd realized during her hours on the freezing-cold island as the rain and sleet beat down, it was that the place was not big enough for hundreds of soldiers to stand around and do nothing.

The team found itself in a room of a large complex that had been built and left vacant for years. The room looked like any normal boxlike office, except the windows had long since broken and large numbers of leaves had deposited themselves inside.

Judgement sat cross-legged, her sword beside her, as Tego lay next to her. Judgement looked to be deep in thought, her eyes closed. Piper and Chloe were sitting together near the entrance, and Layla was sitting on the other side of where a door had once been. Kase paced up and down the middle of the room.

"You're going to wear a groove into it," Piper said.

Kase stopped walking and looked down at the tiled floor. "I want to get this started," she said. "The wait is agonizing."

"We can't do anything until Nate's team opens the gate," Chloe said.

Layla looked out of the nearby window down at Mordred, Hel, Olivia Carpenter, and two dozen others who had taken up positions close to the realm gate temple on the island. They were to be the first wave. Layla hadn't exactly been surprised that Mordred had told everyone he'd be going first. He wasn't the kind of person to let others fight for him.

"How can you be so calm?" Kase asked Judgement, who opened one eye.

"My father and sister are hotheads," she said with a shrug. "Zeus and Athena, I mean. As strange as it may sound, I was probably the calmest member of my family. If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that the best thing to do when you have a chance to relax is relax. Especially before a big battle."

"You think there will be a battle?" Layla asked.

"You don't?" Judgement replied.

"No, I do," Layla said. "I was just hoping someone was more optimistic than I am."

Judgement chuckled. "It might be a quick battle."

"That's not really the kind of optimism I was looking for," Layla said with a smile.

Judgement yawned. "Someone comes."

Layla turned and looked out of the doorway down the corridor as Brynhildr walked toward them. She wore full leather armor like everyone else. She entered the room and nodded to Judgement. "It's good to see you again."

Judgement got to her feet and embraced Brynhildr. "I am glad you're well. I guess we'll be fighting side by side again."

"Any word as to what's happening?" Layla asked.

"We're still waiting on the realm gate to open," Brynhildr said. "Honestly, I'm practically tearing my hair out. Orfeda and her dwarves want to get on with it too. They can sense the impending battle."

"So can Judgement, apparently," Chloe said.

"My blood does seem to be very good at that," Judgement said.

"How many are here?" Piper asked.

"Over four thousand," Brynhildr said, looking out of the broken window. "We're running out of space."

Piper stood and joined them at the window. "I can feel the excitement and anticipation of the people down there. Something is happening."

Layla got to her feet beside her. Those below were gesticulating toward the realm gate temple. "I think you're right," she said.

"My son and his team would not have failed," Brynhildr said, pride in her voice as she spoke about Nate. "He's too stubborn."

"Everyone down here in sixty seconds," a man outside the building shouted, his air magic carrying the words to all those around him.

Layla and her team were outside in less than thirty seconds, Brynhildr remaining beside Layla as her team was ushered toward the realm gate temple. Orfeda and her dwarves had changed the realm gate inside the temple so that the entire temple was a gate. It meant large numbers could be taken through at once, but it had to be activated and deactivated to allow everyone into the temple.

It took half an hour for Layla's team to make it into the temple, and a second later there was a flash of light, and they were in Avalon.

"Nice to see you all," Zamek said. "Things are about to get weird."

"Why?" Layla asked.

"Best you go outside and see for yourself," Zamek said.

Layla practically sprinted outside, only to feel quite bemused as she noticed nearly every one of the hundreds of rebellion members who had gone through the gate earlier was sitting down on a nearby grass hill.

"Ummm ...," Layla said, looking around. "What's going on?"

"We've walked into a civil war, sort of," a rebellion soldier said, looking up at her. "Best go see those in charge."

Layla followed his directions, and she and her team found Hades, Isis, Persephone, and several others all standing in the middle of a street that had been partially destroyed. The buildings on one side were little more than rubble, while on the other they looked to have been barely touched.

"What is going on?" Layla asked anyone who wanted to tell her.

"We arrived and saw black smoke pouring out of the city," Isis said. "So we ran here and found that a large number of residents who were forced to live and work here had risen up against their oppressors."

"The palace is on fire," Layla said.

"Nate may have lost his temper," Isis said with a shrug.

"Apparently blowing up buildings is now one of his powers," Judgement said.

"Those who rose up are mostly inside the palace," Hades said. "Once Nate tore the front off it and killed a dozen paladins."

"Show-off," Judgement said, coughing into her hand.

"It's a really big place," Hades continued. "They're going room to room to check for anyone loyal to Arthur. Unfortunately, there are pockets of resistance inside the palace, some paladins and high-ranking officials, and they're all quite happy to go down fighting."

"And the casualties?" Kase asked.

"The rest are in the hospital and surrounding areas," Persephone said. "Nate's team managed to get here just as the uprising began but too late to stop the execution of a hundred people, which is what started it."

"They executed a hundred people?" Layla asked.

Persephone nodded. "Yes. From what we've been told, people formed an underground rebellion, and they got caught. Someone betrayed them, and it ended with mass executions of their loved ones just outside of the palace."

"That's horrific," Layla said. "How many casualties are we looking at?"

"A lot," Hades said. "We're trying to find places to put them all, considering the hospital is a no-go area for the time being, but these Avalon bastards have put a lot of booby traps around the city."

"And these buildings?" Layla asked.

"The people in charge did this," Hades said. "They wanted to make a point, I assume. There are entire districts that were basically turned into rubble. Thousands of people have died here in Avalon's attempt to control an uprising."

"There were nearly a half million people living in Camelot," Persephone said. "It's going to take a long time to get through the city and find out the true losses."

"Where's the Atlantis realm gate?" Kase asked. Her tone suggested she had interest in only one thing.

"Under the palace," Persephone said. "It's been rigged with about a hundred runes, so we've got Orfeda and her dwarves currently dismantling them."

Kase turned to Layla. "Is it okay if I stay and wait?"

"You don't need to ask," Layla said.

"I know, but ... I just ... my head isn't right. I want to find my dad," she said eventually.

Layla hugged Kase, who returned the gesture. "Go eat something and rest," Layla told her. "We'll be fine without you for a few hours. And frankly, you need sleep more than you need another fight."

"I think your mum is around the palace," Persephone said. "Let's go find her."

Kase nodded, and the pair walked away.

"She's exhausted," Piper said. "Even a werewolf can't run on fumes forever."

"We'll take her to Olivia," Hades said. "Hopefully she can get some rest before we have to drug her."

"She's so close to getting to Atlantis and Tommy," Layla said. "I can't imagine what she's going through. My dad was a serial killer and my mom a serial killer's helper and then zombie assassin."

"That makes her sound a lot cooler than she was," Chloe said.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Layla asked.

"Tarron thinks that the mountains might need to be checked out," Hades said. "We're using the plains between the city and there as a sort of staging area for people we've found prisoners in the palace. There are thousands of them. We need to know who is and isn't friendly, and doing it away from the city seems like a good idea. You could head to the mountains—just make sure we're not about to get a nasty visit from anyone. We sent a small team there after we arrived, but we haven't heard anything yet. Medusa went with them, so I'm sure they're all okay, but it would be good to get an update. I'll send more soldiers that way eventually, but we're a little stretched at the moment."

Layla had to agree that was probably a fair point. "We'll head to the mountains," she said. "You got a way for us to get there that isn't running?"

"Carriages," Hades said. "It'll be an hour or so, but it's the fastest way until we can get the tram system up and running again."

Layla and her team of Piper, Chloe, Tego, and Judgement met up with Tarron and Sky close to the carriages. Tarron gave Layla a hug.

"It's good to see you're still with us," Layla said. "So we're going to check out some mountains."

"We need to make sure no one is going to come through the gates there and attack those people on the plains," Sky said. "I would not put it past them."

Layla looked out of the carriage window at the thousands of people who had been released from the prison and were being tended to in a makeshift city of tents. So many prisoners, so much brutality. If anyone thought that what they were doing wasn't worth it, they only had to look at the toll on life that Avalon took.

On the way, a dozen soldiers joined the group to ride alongside them. They'd come through from Avalon Island, and Layla was glad for the extra firepower. She hoped that the mountain would be free of problems, but she had to admit Sky was right. Avalon would happily attack the injured and sick.

By the time the team had reached the mountains, the rain had started up and dusk had begun to roll in, turning the sky a brilliant purple and orange.

The carriages stopped outside the mountain, and everyone disembarked. "You think there might be some Avalon supporters in here?" one of the soldiers asked Layla.

"I hope not," she said. "But we might as well search for them anyway."

Everyone entered the mountain and continued down the only path until they reached a football-stadium-size chamber.

Layla walked to the middle of the chamber and looked around, stunned by how complex it was. "I've seen a lot of things," she said. "But this is incredible."

"The realm gate we came through is down there," Tarron said, pointing to a large hole. "I imagine there are other gates here. A network of realm gates that no one even knew existed."

"We need to find the team sent here," Chloe said. "Although judging from the size of this place and the dozens of corridors, they could well have just gotten lost. I assume no one here has ever seen this place before."

No one had.

Three dwarves walked out of a nearby chamber, raising their hands when everyone turned toward them, weapons at the ready.

"Orfeda sent us," a large male dwarf said. "We got separated from the team we were with, and now we've been turned around and can't find them. We figured we'd come back here and wait, but no one came back."

"Which tunnel did you go down?" Piper asked.

Another dwarf pointed to a tunnel further down the chamber. Light-blue runes glowed on the archway leading in.

"Some have glowing runes, and some don't," Layla said as several of the soldiers with her team ran over to check out the chamber.

"We think they glow as a sort of power-down mode," a dwarf said. "That chamber goes to Duat."

"Why would that one be glowing now?" Judgement asked.

The dwarves all shrugged as one.

Layla's team split into two, with Judgement and Sky taking half a dozen soldiers down one path, while everyone else made their way over to the glowing runes and walked on into the chamber beyond, where several soldiers were already searching the adjoining rooms. Layla moved to an archway next to the realm gate and looked down the dark passageway beyond.

"There's something there," Tarron said from beside her.

Chloe tapped one of the runes on the passage, and it lit up; more and more of them ignited until the entire passage was alight, showing the dozens of entrances to rooms or tunnels beyond. "It's a damn rabbit warren."

Layla turned to a nearby soldier. "Any of you been down this way yet?"

The soldier, a man with a scar that started just above his eyebrow, curved around his eye, and ended on his cheek, shook his head. "No, ma'am," he said.

"We'll take it," Layla told him and took a step into the passageway, almost immediately hearing a crash from one of the rooms beyond.

"Okay, we've got something," Chloe shouted as she stepped behind Layla. Tego stood in the mouth of the passageway, watching intently.

Layla entered the chamber first and touched the runes on the wall, which ignited, bathing the chamber in light-blue light. There were dozens of crates inside the chamber, some piled up to the ten-foot-high ceiling. At the far end of the chamber, lying next to the crates, was a seriously injured woman. Blood poured freely from dozens of cuts on her arms and legs, and she had a nasty cut on her forehead that would probably require stitches.

Layla crouched down in front of the woman. "Hi, what happened?"

"I was a prisoner," she said. "I had a sorcerer's band on. I couldn't do anything. I don't know how long I was down there. I was ... it was a long time. When the rebellion started, there was a riot by some prisoners. I managed to escape to the plains, but I didn't know where to go. I wanted to fight. I needed to fight, but I was hurt."

"Where's your band?" Layla asked. "What's your name?"

"Another prisoner removed it as we escaped, but I've had it on for so long my power hasn't returned yet," she said. "I think it's just maxed out healing me."

"What's your name?" Layla repeated.

"Athena," she said. "My name is Athena."

Chloe and Layla shared a glance. "Judgement's ... sister, I guess?" Piper asked from the doorway before walking into the room, where she started to examine Athena's wounds.

Athena looked up, suddenly alert. "You know Judgement?" she asked.

"She's here with us," Layla said.

"Here?" Athena asked, animated for the first time.

"Somewhere," Tarron said. "She'll be around soon enough; she's pretty good at turning up when you least expect it."

Athena nodded. "I'm so glad she's okay. I need to see her." She tried to get to her feet but stumbled forward and was caught by Piper.

"Are you okay to walk?" Piper asked.

Athena nodded, looking weaker and more worried than Layla would have expected from someone who was meant to be one of the greatest warriors of all time.

"I'll take her back to the entrance, and we'll hopefully find Judgement on the way," Piper said.

"Take some soldiers with you," Layla said as Piper helped Athena to the door.

Layla watched Athena being escorted out of the mountain by Piper and three soldiers before she turned back to those who were still with her. "Right, let's see if there's anyone else we can find."

Ten minutes later they found a barely conscious Medusa in a room with a large realm gate that didn't appear to have been completed. There were two dead soldiers beside her, both of whom had been decapitated. Layla rushed over and helped Medusa up off the floor, who groaned and sagged against her, barely conscious. Two of the soldiers who had come with Layla's team, along with Tarron, helped move her to an adjacent chamber.

"She's been seriously hurt," Chloe said. "She got stabbed just below the ribs on her left side. It's bleeding badly, and I'm pretty sure the knife was silver. She needs proper medical attention."

"We can make do for now," Tarron said, and he dipped his fingers into Medusa's blood and began to draw a rune around her. "I'm not a dwarf, but this should stabilize her until we can get her to someone who knows how to stop this."

When he'd finished drawing it, red power flowed around it until it completed the entire circle of runes, when it snapped shut. Medusa gasped, her eyes wide open for several seconds.

"What happened?" Layla asked.

"Athena," Medusa said. "Athena did this to me."

"Shit," Chloe said, turning to run after Piper.

"Tarron, make sure Medusa stays in one piece," Layla said before turning to the soldiers. "Both of you with me."

They made it outside the mountain and found several dead soldiers lying on the ground. Several of the horses had been killed, too, and Piper lay up against the wheel of a carriage, her throat slashed, bleeding a considerable amount.

Chloe sat beside her, screaming for help.

A soldier ran back into the mountain to get the rest of the dwarves, who emerged soon after and set to work drawing runes to keep Piper alive. Layla stood back and let people work. The only thing she was able to do was hope as Chloe held her wife's hand and wept.